Year of the Rabbit rung in with a dancing lion at RSS
January 26, 2023 at 6:10 a.m.
Performers from the Chinatown Community Young Lions, an organization based in New York City, nuzzle Ridge Street Elementary School third-grader Liam Deleon, who shies away from the cuddly onslaught before succumbing in a fit of giggles. The act was part of a Lunar New Year assembly in the school’s cafetorium on Wednesday, Jan. 18.
Grace Zhu (left) and Grace Miao, both fourth-graders, present at the assembly, discussing the aspects of the Lunar New Year tradition practiced by their families’ cultures. This year, the holiday fell on Sunday, Jan. 22.
Ridge Street Elementary School students whose families originate from various Asian countries lead the assembly on Wednesday, Jan. 18. They recount their cultures’ traditions and invite students to participate in their presentations.
The lion sits on the stage, ready to spring up and dance away bad luck for the Lunar New Year.
Natalia Samela, a third-grader, gets eaten by the lion. She laughs as the furry beast wraps its jaws around her head.
Third-grader Eli Ferrari runs into the arms of his ecstatic classmates after being chased across the cafetorium by the lion. He saw the colorful beast eating some of his peers, and he didn’t want to suffer the same fate.
